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Nothing But The Ruth!

Disregarding the Traditional Workweek

When did we decide that the “workweek” should be defined as Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.? (Okay, I know a good many lawyers work a lot more than that, but you know what I’m saying.)

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of time and what it means in terms of my work. When I was a solo practitioner, I was only in my office two or three days a week — the days I met with clients or when I wanted to be free of the distractions of home. It wasn’t uncommon for me to run the errands that most people save for the weekends or to work on community activities during the middle of the week. Since joining a firm, even though I am of counsel and have autonomy over my schedule, I feel obligated to be in the office Monday through Friday.

Why is that?

Does Anybody Really Care What Time It Is?

One thing I’ve learned about my law practice is that no one cares when or where I work as long as I am getting my work done. Of course, I do mainly transactional work so my time is not dictated by the court’s calendar. That said, my clients don’t care if I’m working at 2 in the morning or 3 in the afternoon, or whether I wear a suit or gym clothes. They care that the project gets done by the deadline and that I respond to phone calls and emails.

He doesn’t say you have to work 18 hours a day like he does. He says do what works for you. It made me think about what does work for me — and not just as a professional but as a person. I’m lucky to have few obligations and commitments in my life that are contingent on other establishments that conform to the traditional workweek. If I want to take meetings or calls late at night, early in the morning or on the weekends, that’s my prerogative. So why do I feel the need to conform to a traditional week schedule?

Hand-in-hand with rethinking how I view time is the importance of balance. I know I’m not the only lawyer who has no inherent concept of moderation in my life. I have to schedule time for rest, fitness and recreation or else it’s too easy to get lost in work. Conversely, without some structure for my work (like to-do lists and deadlines), it could be easy to fall into a Peter Pan-esque lifestyle.

Perhaps it would be a revealing exercise to give up the notion of a traditional schedule and build a calendar based on my strengths, priorities and preferred schedule. I wonder how clients and co-workers would react to the idea of me scheduling meetings at 8:30 p.m., or taking a day off in the middle of the week to go on a day trip with friends.